Web Design and Development
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Fighting the Search Engine Optimisation Monkeys

Posted on April 7, 2008 by Jamie Harrop 
Filed Under Search Engine Optimization | Leave a Comment

SEO Monkeys

Photo by Danny Otanes

Over the past seven days three of our customers have emailed me in an attempt to get advice on one common theme. All three customers have received unsolicited emails from search engine optimisation (SEO) companies trying to sell their services to my client.

Subject: Overview for www.My-Customers-Website.com

Hello,

Firstly, let me introduce myself as a search consultant for XXXXXXXXX.com.

I came across www.customers-website.com today while looking for a website with unique content that would make a good candidate for better search engine rankings.

The email goes on to give a very basic analysis of the customers Web site.

Jamie’s Advice

Having seen three of my customers receive very similar emails over the past week, I’ve almost mastered the art my reply. Here is the reply I sent to Dave at nU-build Conservatories, who emailed me just this morning looking for advice after he was contacted by an SEO monkey.

Hi Dave,

That’s another of those emails I would ignore. That email they sent you was unsolicited, and in turn was spam. Frankly, I would stay away from any company that sends spam to people in a bid to get business.

If you do ever feel you want to focus on more search engine traffic, give me a shout. We’ve recently been getting some fantastic results for our customers. In fact, here’s the most recent testimonial we got from a customer (they are a Canadian luxury home builder.)

“Within the first few months of our new site going live, our traffic has increased substantially, and we have noticed a dramatic increase in customers using the contact methods on our site.

In fact, this has almost created a problem. Our site is so well done and so easily found in search engines, that we have people contacting us from everywhere, even people who aren’t building in our area! But that’s life, and it’s a good problem to have.”

So my advice is to ignore the monkeys in London who spam people, and speak to us if you should ever have the desire to rock Google. :-) Like any self-respecting search engine optimisation company, we can’t guarantee a specific result, but we can certainly back up our service with a bunch of testimonials and statistical and financial figures from our customers. Without tooting my own horn (actually, I’ll just toot my own horn), I would say we’re the best search engine optimisation company in West Yorkshire. :-)

Thanks for forwarding it on to me, Dave. You’ll probably get more of these in the future (we get them through our own Web site, even though search engine optimisation is a service we offer and promote).

Jamie

Important Points

  • The email that Dave, and my other two customers received was spam. They didn’t ask for it. They don’t know the people who sent it. It was spam.
  • The company that sent the emails are obviously finding our customers Web sites in some fashion to be able to send the emails. Through search engines, perhaps?
  • The company didn’t back up their claims with any evidence. In my response, I copied in a testimonial from one of our customers.
  • And yes, even we get these types of emails. Despite the fact we promote SEO across our Web site, we get SEO monkeys contacting us to see if we would like to use their services.

If you want to increase your search engine rankings, don’t be fooled by the monkeys who send out spam. Use a well respected company who can show you testimonials and physical statistical proof from past projects that they can increase your rankings and give your business a boost. Ya know, like the the best SEO company in West Yorkshire. Or, if you happen to live with Kangaroos and Fosters, I have it on good word that Sheila Brendon and his team at Tailored Consulting do fantastic SEO work.

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SEO technicians - evolve or die!

Posted on April 5, 2008 by Paul Hirsch 
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An interesting discussion came up on Web Hosting Talk, and I felt compelled to participate in it. The discussion was initially about SEO scammers, people who pretend they understand how search engines work and how to optimize for them, but at best know a few surface techniques and do very little for customers in the long run.

I made an assertion within that discussion that I’d like to make more formally here: SEOs who do not incorporate broader marketing strategies into their services, specifically related to conversion and ROI, will become obsolete and will die within the next five years.

The problem is that SEO experts, strictly by their definition, only work on improving rankings for certain key words and phrases. The end result of their work is high rankings. This is not in line with customer end results. Customers measure success based on very different criteria, such as visitor-to-customer conversion, measured by whatever action they expect of their customers (make a purchase, sign up for an event, register for a service, distribute a message, etc.). The greater the gap between the vendor’s measurement for success and the customer’s goal, the less relevant that vendor becomes. The SEO-only expert’s measurement for success is how high something ranks. The customer’s measurement for success is based on conversion and ROI. That’s a huge gap!

This wouldn’t be a problem if all SEO experts, Web developers, marketing experts, etc. stuck to their narrow scopes of expertise, but many are finding they can be effective in more than one area. Imagine an SEO with a marketing background and a degree of technical knowhow, who can not only drive traffic, but can analyze its quality, see where the site is losing traffic, and put together a strategy that keeps visitors engaged longer and compels them to act to the benefit of the site owner. This type of SEO expert is the one who is going to not only speak a language customers can understand, but whose impact will be most within his control, most measurable and most valuable.

The SEO expert with the broad marketing and technical skills exist are here, and they will be the death of the traditional SEO expert. You can’t beat them, so join them. Maybe this means broadening your own skill set. Maybe it means teaming up with other experts to deliver a more complete service. But if the only thing you bring to the table is SEO, your end results do not reflect your customers’ measurements for success, and you will risk appearing at best second-rate and at worse unnecessary. Just like every other expert who works in fields related to the Web, if you’re not willing to evolve, you will eventually become irrelevant.

Evolve or die!

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The True Value of a Web Site

Posted on March 20, 2008 by Jamie Harrop 
Filed Under Running a Web Design Business | Leave a Comment

City Fat Cats

Photo by Christopher Chan

I often ask my prospects what they want from their new Web site. What their goals and aspirations are for this new advertising medium they have asked me to create.

“I want a good design.”

I often ask my prospects why they want a new Web site.

“Because everybody else has one. It’s just the thing to do, isn’t it?”

Wrong!

No, it isn’t. It’s not the thing to do.

That may sound strange coming from the owner of a Web development company, but take it, run with it, and hear me out. :)

A Web site is pointless unless it’s doing something. Advertising. Earning. Branding. Motivating. Inspiring.

Why do you want a good design?

“I don’t know really. It just wouldn’t look good without a good design.”

Despite what most people think and what has been drilled in to us over time by “certain” Web designers, your Web site shouldn’t be about a good design. A good design is an excellent thing, but what’s the reason for that good design? Do you want a good design because your friend Bill has a good design? Do you want a good design just because, well, just because? Or, do you want a good design because a good design is what is going to aid visitors in navigating, reading and enjoying your Web site, which will ultimately result in more business for you, and more profit?

There’s always a deeper purpose to wanting a good design. There are any number of valid reasons, but usually a customer wants a good design because a good design is a part of an overall plan to produce a Web site which converts visitors to customers and in turn gives the customer a healthy return on investment for their Web site.

Expense or Investment?

Most people mistake the cost of a Web site for an expense when a well planned, well managed, well developed Web site should be an investment. An investment with a solid return on investment.

So what’s the true value of a Web site?

The true value of a Web site is not measured by how good the design is or how many pages a Web site has. The true value is how well your goal is met. The goal for your Web site may vary from simple brand awareness to an actual dollar amount you want to profit from your new Web site. For most of our customers, their goal is to increase their annual turnover as a result of the Web site.

So you’re saying I shouldn’t have a pretty design?

If you’re going to get a 300% return on investment with a less than eye-candy design, but just a 200% return on investment with a stunningly beautiful design, which would you choose? I know which I would. :)

The Reason Companies Spend Millions

Some people, even Web designers themselves, often have a hard time believing that a Web site can cost several hundred thousand dollars, or even millions of dollars. But it’s true. Companies do pay these amounts (albeit not to us. Dang!).

So why do companies pay upwards of $300,000 for a Web site? Because they know in the first 12 months of launch, they’ll make $600,000 from their Web site. It’s simple ROI and math. If you, as a Web developer, can show a board of directors that by spending $50,000 they’ll only make $75,000 in their first year, but if they spend $300,000 they’ll make $600,000, they’ll always go for the more expensive option.

Companies spend millions building new stores on the high street each day in an attempt to build their brand awareness, draw in customers and showcase all their products. So why wouldn’t a company spend millions to build another store (Web site) in front of a far wider audience that is the Internet?

Summary: - A Web site isn’t all design and eye-candy. You should have solid goals for your Web site. Brand goals. Marketing goals. Sales goals. And your Web developer should work with you to produce a Web site that is an investment, not an expense. A Web site should not be something “you just do”. It should be a living, breathing marketing medium that helps your business to grow and succeed.

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